Goodnight, Goodnight
by Brutal Let Down
Summary: When the L4D2 crew happen upon a beaten and battered girl, they decide to help. But they never would have expected all the complications she'd bring... Slight AU, but not by much, later mentionings of Nellis, CURRENT CHAPTERS UNDER REVISION!
1. Prologue

Prologue

Am I lost?...

It's been sense a couple of days ago that I saw them last. I'm thinking they're playing some cruel prank, but that might be my dehydrated mind talking. Trying to come up with some excuse as to _why_ my party is nowhere in sight.

The heat... God.

I lost my sun glasses awhile back as well. We had woken up to the sounds of ridiculous, insane laughter. A jockey.

We rushed to get him off her, and we did. But we also woke others. We had to leave that instant, making sure to grab everything. But my sunglasses, of course.

I had to leave all my things behind as I tried to find them, only taking essentials. I ran out of water three days ago. I ran out of _food _a _week _ago.

I'm pretty sure I've lost track of them for some time now. Now, I guess I'm wandering.

It's so bright.

My eyes burned, but I was thankful the sun was on its last couple hours, seemingly quickly descending behind the trees. But not quick enough.

Running on fumes would be an understatement to my current situation. My own sweat couldn't get me to go further, as I thought it could keep me at least slightly hydrated. My feet became sluggish, my stomach now a constant pain. My eye sight is blurry, and it hurts everywhere.

The hallucinations became frequent, starting out with butterflies. I chased them at first, until they started leading me to danger. Then, I started seeing _her_. She was laughing and smiling, and that's when I knew it wasn't real. The only time she smiles is when I smile. But, here lately, I haven't been doing any of that.

I tried my best to not pass out, not letting the dehydration and physical exertion from knocking off several of them with an aluminum bat, get to me. It was hard.

My right hand had to weigh about a thousand pounds, but I kept swinging. Kept walking.

I have no idea where I'm going.

I have no idea where I _am_.

I'm lost.

And I think I'm going to die.


	2. Lights

Walking in dress shoes is a bitch. At least, as far as one of the four survivors is concerned. If he would've known he'd be waking up to zombies, he might have put on something more sensible... And something that would match his suit.

"Nick, c'mon, man. We got tuh' go." Twanged the youngest member of his party. He had to be around 22, 23.

Nick had stopped to lean against a wall to pull off one of his shoes to let all the accumulated sand run out.

He grunted, "Hang on a second, Jesus." he did the same for the other shoe.

The eldest of the group grunted as well, "Don't make me have tuh' hawl yah' over my shoulder, boy!"

"Coach, calm down. Look," Nick slipped on his shoe, then put his hands up in defense, palms outward, "I'm done. We can go." he stated, rejoining the four, pulling out his magnum from its holster. Thank god he had that baby with him when he came to Georgia. He couldn't remember what had possessed him to come all the way here, when he knew that Las Vegas was probably sitting high and dry from all this infection bull shit.

The female of the group only shook her head in slight amusement. She knew having someone like Nick around would bring it's slight hassles. But even _she_ was getting annoyed by his constant 'breaks'.

As they reformed and were headed down the street, a few infected made themselves apparent. She was quick to plug them off with head shots.

"Nice shootin' Rochelle." the southerner complemented, yet not looking in her direction, a small smile gracing his lips.

Rochelle tittered, and kept her eyes open to the area.

The eldest started to lead, taking off all infected through his sights. He was a little less tolerant of some of their laid back behavior, mostly due to his old job as a high school football coach, the schools symbol proof on his shirt.

They had just all rounded a corner when the youngest spotted a girl.

His mouth dropped, seeing that she looked to be... Well, not infected. But she sure looked to be on the verge of it, or something, because she looked completely beat up, and was walking, or more accurately, staggering, in a dazed manner.

"Coach, don't shoot'er!" he called, rushing in front of him, taking off the few common that were in his way from the girl.

Coach gave a "Hey now!"

But when he got to her, she seemed to go on alert. Her dark hair swayed as she spun to keep him in her sights, small trickles of blood splaying onto the road as she did so.

Her eyes. They were blood shot. And enraged.

In her hands was an aluminum bat. But it was so caked with blood and dirt, the only way you could tell it was aluminum was when it made the metal 'clangs' as she held it so low it skitted on the road.

She lifted the bat slightly, her stance defensive.

"Stay back! I don't have anything!" she screamed, bat at the ready behind her head, both hands tight around the handle. Her voice was dry and sounded painful to speak, though she did scream, it sounded more like a loud whisper.

"Hey, hey, sweetheart," he used the endearment because she seemed to be even younger than _he_ was. He would even dare around 17 or 16, "I ain't gone hurt'cha." he cooed, bringing his body down, crouching slightly to her also crouching stature, seemingly unable to raise her body much higher.

At the sound of her voice, Nick mentally cursed, completely amazed to see a still living, well, barely, un-infected human being.

It looked like she was on her last leg of a hard journey.

Ellis showed her his gun, she glared at him suspiciously, her eyes darting from his face to the gun.

"I ain't gone hurt'cha." he said more softly, and then started to set the gun down, ever so slowly.

The girl seemed to be eyeing the ones behind him as well.

"Hey, they's my friends, they ain't gonna hurt'cha none either." he said, gaining her eye contact again.

He successfully set the gun on the road, and was now approaching her.

At the sight of his advancements she gave a growl and started to back up frigidly.

That's when Ellis heard the laughter.

The girls eyes instantly went wider, if that was even possible, and she turned on a heel, just in time to see a Jockey leap towards her.

All three, Rochelle, Coach and Nick took aim, but none were quick enough to get it before it got to her. Though they needn't worry, not expecting to see what happened next.

With a guttural yell, she heaved her bat straight up, the head hitting the Jockey square in its cackling mouth, shutting him up. But she didn't stop there.

It seemed to still be twitching on the road, slight huffing giggles escaping its cheekless, insane smile.

She took her bat up again and gave a chilling shriek with every pound into its taunting Cheshire face. Blood pooled, and flung itself onto her, her face, her clothes, everywhere.

The Jockey had long sense been dead, and the girl seemed to not notice the other commons that started after her. Nick assumed that's how she accumulated most of her battle scars, from not noticing the others until she was already being attacked.

Ellis retrieved his gun and started protecting her, not standing too close, but far enough away to where he could block her and still not get caught up in her tirade.

"Ellis, come on now, this girl done gone crazy, we need to leave." Coach said right after taking out a Hunter.

Ellis swung his head back and forth frantically, eyes going back to his scope.

"Can't. She's living, and I ain't gonna leave'er." he stated matter-o-factly.

Nick gave a sigh, not all that surprised. But, he seemed to be warming up to the idea of a girl joining their foursome who can take a Jokey out of the air, with a bat, no less.

Rochelle agreed, "Coach, look at her. She is obviously traumatized. She doesn't look too much younger than _Ellis_!" she exclaimed.

As soon as Ro made her statement though, the so mentioned girl gave one last thud of her bat, and sized up. Her body seemed to go limp in every muscle as she came tumbling down, but not to the road. Ellis was quick enough to catch her.

"Here we go," he grunted softly, her head in the crook of his elbow.

"They're... they're..." the girl tried to communicate, but nothing more would come out, her voice almost lost. Her eyes fluttering and her hands searching for something that was obviously not there. It looked like she might have had a heat stroke.

"Shush, now, you need to start restin' up. We'll get you somewhere safe." Ellis lifted her form, setting her more comfortably in his arms.

"Alright," Ellis joined back with the three, rather hastily, wanting to get this girl medical attention in a safe environment, "Let's move!" he roared to the others. It seemed the number of the infected had increased staggeringly.

It had turned into a horde.

The group made a quick job of most of them, but started to stumble when reloading was necessary, Ellis being of no use with his hands full. Soon, though, to their relief, a safe room was in sight. It looked to be an information kiosk for the town, with various maps strewn out on the pavement as the twirling carrier they were in had been tipped over, no doubt due to the commotion of this madness.

The group was able to duck inside just in time to get out of the line of sight of an enormous Charger.

The red door was slammed shut, the iron bar snug in place. The whole group seemed to let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. Well, all except one.

Soft cries were heard coming from the girl, Ellis quickly looking down at her in his arms. Her whole form seemed to be shaking.

"...They're gone..." she whimpered, her eyes shut tight, tears leaving hot trails down her cheeks.

Ellis looked up to eye the others.

Sense they had no idea what she meant, they'd have to wait till she was stable for questions. In the meantime, they had to settle in and fix her up.

"I'll get to lookin' for some food." Coach volunteered, happy to get his heavy weapon out of his hands and set on a nearby lobby couch. The information office seemed to be well maintained, despite the outside chaos, with a few comfy looking arm chairs and several cushy couches.

Ellis quickly made a move to set her down in one of the couches, propping her head on the arm rest. Ellis noticed the large amount of blood that had slicked the inside of his forearms. He was worried about how much blood she had already lost. Her state wasn't something that was hopeful.

Her breaths had become quickened and shallower, her eyes still clenched shut. Now that they had a moment to really look at her, he noticed the full extent of her pain and suffering.

Her lips were way passed chapped, completely cracked, and even bleeding in the corners. Her hair was matted with blood in certain areas, and her knuckles were swollen and bloody. She had to have more than about 50 ,Ellis would say, gashes, cuts and wounds all over, peppering her body. And her sun burn. She had to of been a pale girl, because the extent of the burn was severe. You could faintly see a tell-tell sign that she had at least been wearing some sunglasses at one point in time. Ellis stood and really looked at all of her, as a whole. He was stunned to think she took down a Jockey who mili-seconds before was in mid-air, getting ready to pounce her, and she so fearlessly went after him. Actually, Ellis took that back. Now that he really thought of it, it was more like blind rage rather than actual bravery. He wondered if she had to take down things much stronger than a Jockey.

He solemnly shook his head, pity wept his face. He took the med kit from his back and first sanitized his hands.

"What'cha gonna do, honey?" Rochelle asked sheepishly, walking up beside him.

"I'm gonna fix'er up." he stated, and then getting out all the things he'd need to 'fix'er'. Which, was actually most of what was in the bag. Her injuries varied, so many different things would need to be used.

"El, I think you'll need to, uh..." Nick then came over, eyeing the new girl head to toe, noticing the cuts in her clothes and then noticing the red blood streaks under them.

Ellis eyed the gambler, "What?"

"I think you'll need to strip her down." he continued swiftly, explaining himself, "She's got wounds everywhere. Working through clothes isn't going to make it easy."

Ellis thought this over, looking back to the girl.

"We need tah find something tah set'er on, but is still comfortable to'er." He stated.

Rochelle nodded, going further into the big office house, seeking anything that could accommodate her. As she scoped out the materials that could possibly help, the image of the girl came back to her. She comforted herself by the knowledge that they were now going to keep that girl safe and make her better. She went down a hallway and saw a half open door. She peeked inside and found a desk.

"In here!" Rochelle instructed the boys, who were both carrying her through the building, Ellis holding her head and upper body, and Nick her legs. Even though Ellis was able to pick her up in the road, it had mostly been adrenaline that helped him keep her in his arms as he shot down infected. But now, as his nerves had calmed down, it was damn nearly impossible for him to do it alone. This was no petite little girl. Her strength and muscle had been clear when she killed the infected on her own.

They brought her into the dully lit room, soon turning on many flash lights to illuminate it some more. Rochelle had laid the soft linens on the desk, insuring the girl would be comfortable on its surface.

The girl gave a soft groan as she was sat on her back. Her eyes fluttered open, leering at the two men who were hovering over her.

"Hey, remember me?" Ellis took on a friendly voice, a warm smile on his lips.

"Muh name's Ellis. Course, you could call me El, if you wanted."

The con-man decided he wanted to be noticed by their newest addition, "Yea, and I'm Nick. You can call me Nick." he said, a pokey grin on his face.

The girl then raised one dark eyebrow. Ellis hadn't noticed till now, but a few inches of hair on her right side had been dyed blond, presumably pre-apocolypse.

"Hey, I like ya hair." he commented, another smile tugging at his lips.

She then gave a very weak smile as well, though with an eyebrow still raised.

"Listen. I'm gonna help ya with your wounds. That means I need tah clean ya up."

The girl seemed to vaguely understand, if the slight reddish coloration on her pale cheeks was any indication. She gave a terse head nod.

Ro gave a shallow exhale as she made her way to the girl, water bottle in hand.

"Hi, " she said cheerily, like how you would say it to an infant who was smiling at you.

The girl looked up at her, seeming to be at least a little more relieved to have another female there.

"I'm Rochelle. What's your name?" She asked, and involuntarily started to stroke her bangs out of her face. Her red eyes seeming to smile up at her.

"D-hanny..." her voice was defiantly gone, her remaining bits were hissy and squeaky.

Rochelle seemed to falter in her words at the sound of her brokenness.

"Danny... I like that name." She said, now whispering softly, not wanting to be any louder for fear of her voice showing her sadness.

"Shoot, I have three cousins named Danny." Ellis commented, his eyes stilled fixed on getting rags soaked with iodine in preparation of their medical procedure. Ellis saw he'd be needing to stitch several places on her body up, not even including the ugly three clawed gashes on her back.

Nick was going along the same lines, but doused his rag with just water, using it to start lightly scrubbing off caked on blood, a lot of which looked to be extremely old.

Nick wondered to himself how long this girl-excuse him- 'Danny' had been out there wondering out in the open, attacking anything that came close. She sure had spirit.

Soon, Coach came lumbering in the office room, his voice loud, but upon seeing everyone being so quiet and delicate around the girl he hushed.

"Oh, well, I found some boxes filled with trail mix, tatuh' chips, and a couple different canned goods." informed them softly, now sauntering over to look at the girl he had sworn was some kind of crazy.

But now, as he stared down at her red, agonized eyes, all he could see is a innocent sweet child, who should have never been in this situation. Her body gave a tremble.

She had noticed Coach and was slightly frightened by his size.

He gave a soft chuckle, "No need to worry, youngin', you's safe here." he assured her.

Her body untended and laid still once again.

Rochelle had curled one of her hands carefully around one of her battered hands and was rubbing a thumb in a circle in her palm. She turned to Coach, "Her name's _Danny_."

Coach smiled wide, "Danny. Is it short for somethin'?" he asked, leaning down slightly towards her head.

She nods, seemingly more weak than she did last.

"Danalia." her voice crocked, her name coming out in three long seconds. Coach tried not to frown in pity of her state.

"Danalia!" Ellis exclaimed, yet whispered.

He came up from cleaning one of her legs and smiled to her, "Such a pretty name."

Danny smiled again, yet her response was a little slower than earlier.

All the while, Nick had been observing her behavior, the subtle difference in her responses, her reactions.

If they didn't cut all this 'look at the new baby!' crap they'd be losing her. He then coughed, getting their attentions.

"We need to speed this up. She's already lost a lot of blood." He says quietly, in a stern tone, making sure they understood his need for urgency.

They all gave a nod, and Coach waved a small good bye to Danny as he went back to get the supplies into the main room.

Rochelle gently squeezed her hand, still weary of her hand injuries. She finally let go, and headed after Coach.

Danny seemed to barely notice these things as she started staring at the ceiling, unblinking.

"Danny!" Nick didn't yell it, but he might as well with the response he got from the girl. Her eyes went wide as her body jerked. But, when she did jerk, it sent a surge of pain throughout the parts of her body that had just gotten used to being still. She gave a hoarse moan of pain.

Nick didn't have the time to even feel the slightest bit guilty for his actions, knowing it was required.

Ellis, though, gave him an angered look, that immediately cooled over as he went to sooth the thrashing girl.

"Shhh, Shhh." he had started rubbing one of the only spots that didn't seem to be injured on her shoulder.

Nick began to tug and carefully yank down her pants.

Danny immediately began to slightly protest, the pain from the gashes on her thighs killing her.

Ellis had to slightly restrain her upper body by her shoulders, but not putting too much effort into it, not needing to due to her weak attempts.

"It'll be over wit' before ya know, sweetheart." he tried consoling her, but it seemed nothing was going to help. He was torn up that they didn't have any more pain killers, or at least something to help her. This, unlike his previous promise, was going to be long and torturous.

Once Nick had slipped off her blood drenched jeans, he was able to clean her deep gashes more efficiently. Of course, every time he put even the slightest pressure on anything, Danny's cracked, hoarse screeches would permeate the air.

Thank god they weren't loud enough to alert Rochelle, knowing she'd surely be storming in to stop them from hurting her further. It seemed both Nick and Ellis were in silent agreement on that.

They both worked as quickly as they could to clean her first, making sure their stitching was done right. Every so often, until she was completely bare, they slipped another piece of clothing off to clean her. Ellis was at least glade she wasn't noticing her own nakedness, so she wouldn't feel so embarrassed at the end.

As Nick washed over some unusually dark marks that lay about her abdomen, he started to notice they weren't coming off. He frowned at the spot and began to scrub just a little harder.

"Nick, that'sa tattoo." Ellis commented smoothly.

He pointed out she had the same one on her right side as well. If Nick didn't know any better, he'd say they looked like those carved holes in violins and those kinds of string instruments.

In fact, they looked exactly like those hole things.

"You play violin?" Nick asked her casually, tossing the dirtied rag on the floor.

Danny had her lower lip gripped in between her teeth, trying to keep still and calm.

She nodded stiffly.

Nick smiled. He didn't know what it was about violin music, but it just made him feel so relaxed. He had another rag ready to go, and was now going through the area on her upper chest, making sure to not bother with areas that seemed clear of grime, which were areas that had been covered when she was attacking. So, her clothes had acted as a shield for most of her blood shed.

Ellis heard light footsteps, Rochelle, coming to the office door, which had been shut snuggly, to give them their space to work.

Ellis glanced down of the mostly cleaned body of Danny. She was still quivering lightly, and her face was closed off with pain. Some of the wounds Ellis had thought were severe now seemed mild. With all the bloody scabs it seemed most of her wounds were attained days ago. Maybe weeks.

Rochelle peeked a head through the door, "We found some peoples luggage, so she doesn't have to wear those old clothes." she told Ellis softly. Her eyes lingered at Danny, seeing her fragile body completely exposed. Exposed to these two.

Ellis gave her a nod, and started to gently shut the door. Rochelle choked back a soft sob, her lips tight across her face. She nodded slowly and left.

"Danny, we're gone start tah stitch'ya up now." he said gingerly, coming up and placing his palm against her forehead. He glanced at the bottled water Rochelle had brought and quickly uncapped it to give it to her.

He brought her head up to an angle and held the bottle to her white, flakey looking lips. She eagerly accepted the water, even grabbing the bottle to gulp it down. Once it was empty, Ellis took it from her hands and set it aside.

"You've been thirsty, I see." Ellis said, seeing that some redness had started to return to her lips.

Nick had already started to stitch up the more shallow ones that needed stitching, and he looked up to see Danny breathing a little more easily. He gave a small smile to know this girl that they found on the verge of death, coming back to life.

Danny nodded before setting her head back down and winced at the contact of her head to the desk. Although Rochelle had placed the blankets under her, they weren't that effective.

As Nick meticulously sewed her scratches and gashes shut, Ellis started pocking and prodding.

He knew this was going to hurt her even more than the stinging disinfectant, but he needed to check for any broken bone, and if anything that might have injured her on the inside. A punctured organ was the last thing he wanted.

"Danny, I see all these bruises and it makes me worried." he said in a hushed manner, leaning close to her ears so she wouldn't have to strain to hear him.

Danny lifted an eyebrow, as if questioning if he was serious or not. She's probably thinking, "Duh, you _should_ be worried!"

Ellis shook his head to explain, still rubbing through skin to feel for anything wrong, "You might have broken bones you don't know about." He said, making eye contact with her, so she understood his seriousness.

She swallowed once and nodded. But, his new procedure brought on a new pain that was even worse. This time, thanks to the water, her pained squeals and moans were more audible. He worried what the others would think when they heard.

As Ellis rubbed at her bruises that he knew could sustain a broken bone, he noticed Nick kept looking back up from his stitching on her arm. He was worried.

Ellis was only a little surprised to see the con-man taking a little interest in her. If anything, he sort of guessed he would. It made him think differently of him right there. Maybe he wasn't as heartless as he was lead to believe.

Back in the main room, Coach and Rochelle had finished settling all their supplies in, now waiting, sitting on the chairs and couches like worried parents waiting to hear if the surgery was successful or not. In a way, it was exactly like that.

"What'cha reckon we gonna do with the girl when they's done?" Coach suddenly spoke up after another round of Danny's screams in the other room.

Rochelle flinched at his words, "Well, I assumed..." she spoke softly, starting to feel like Coach was about to yank Danny away from her.

Coach chuckled gruffly, "I'm sorry, baby girl, but I doubt we'd be able tuh keep her with us. You saw those injuries. She ain't gonna be a big help once she has to stay off her feet to heal."

Rochelle flared, "You're really saying that? Did you even _see_ what she did back there?" Rochelle had stood, slowly approaching the big man, "Once she's properly healed, I bet she'd be able to whip any one of our asses, gun or not!" Rochelle hadn't noticed how high her voice had risen until she was done.

She opened her mouth to immediately apologize, a hand over her own shocked face, when Coach lifted a hand, "I understand. You's grown a bond with her." He nodded solemnly, letting the issue drop. Then she guessed it was settled. Danny was now part of their group.

Rochelle didn't know what to say to that, so she bemused herself by going into the hallway of the office and slowly paced a couple steps. A large smile graced her lips as she thought of it. She'd be able to protect this girl from everything- even if she was completely capable, and then some, at protecting herself - and keep a motherly eye on her. It made her feel warm inside. Danny, in a way, was giving her hope. A hope that everyday wasn't just for survival, but that now she also had purpose.

Rochelle then tittered. She'd like it if the others would start referring to her and Danny as 'The Girls'. Then, Danny and _her_ could call _them_ 'The Boys'.

But soon, her smiles and laughter were cut short. A rather loud grunt from Ellis was followed abruptly by "AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Rochelle gasped, a hand covering her mouth.

It had to of been an hour later, but to Nick, it seemed like 5, but they were finally done.

At some point, after they rigged the system that would keep Danny's broken upper arm bone safe from further damage, they had to flip her over to get to the deeper gashes on her back. Those seemed to be more painful than the other cuts she had, because with every stitch she whimpered. At some point during that, she had either fallen asleep or passed out, and Nick was leaning towards the later.

Nick's back was killing him, and he was getting tired of looking at a Frankenstein looking, naked girl. He took one of the few clean rags they still had and began cleaning himself. He was glade he had taken his white jacket off before bringing her in here, otherwise, it'd be stained for eternity.

His poor blue shirt, on the other hand, had already suffered that fate. As he cleaned his hands and looked at the clothing he tried to tell himself it wasn't that bad. He eventually frowned and started tugging it off.

Ellis had sat down in one of the rolling office chairs, not bothering to clean himself, and slightly dozing off. Before all this, they had been walking for hours, and it was about time he got a good nap. In the back of his mind, the part still conscious, he thought about what if Danny didn't wake up in the morning? What then?

He pushed the thought aside as he went further into sleep, bringing an arm on the rest and leaning his head on.

As Nick was getting ready to do the same, he took a blanket from the corner and draped it over Danny's still body. He hoped they had helped her in time, but his only relief would come with the morning.


	3. Camara

Ok, so, I was a little afraid to write this. I read my reviews and I don't want to disappoint you or anything.

And yea, I am one of those people who can't stand OCs! But I wrote this with that in mind.

**(BLD)**

She woke with a cough, her eyes squinting, the sunlight breaching through the window painful to her still red eyes.

"God..." she lifted a hand to get the light out of her face, and was surprised to feel something covering her arm. A searing pain ran up her forearm as she did so, though, and she almost screamed. She blinked rapidly to get adjusted and almost jumped out of her skin when she saw a figure sitting in a chair close to her.

"Holy shit!" she scrambled into a sitting position but then immediately regretted it when she felt the tight pinching on her skin near sensitive flesh.

"Hey, hey, calm down. It's jus' me." the voice was gentle and soothing, she looked back to them, noting it was a southern looking man, his hands out front in a defensive yet surrendering motion.

"Who...Where...I..." she looked around franticly, her voice trembling, like a mouse in a trap, looking for an escape.

"It's me, Ellis. The one who saved'ya?" Ellis seemed a little offended the girl hadn't recognized him, and wasn't giving him 'thank you's.

"She probably doesn't remember what happened, Sport." came an older man into the room.

She was now pawing through her shirt, which she noticed she hadn't been wearing before.

"What's going on?" she asked, feeling wire protruding from wounds she didn't remember getting.

"How could she have forgotten?" the boy asked, a little shocked.

"She _did_ have a heat stroke. I wouldn't be surprised if she had been seeing hallucinations when we saw her." The older man spoke, eyeing the girl up and down.

"What's going on?" She finally asked, a little louder, a little firmer.

The older man cleared his throat, gaining her attention, "We found you wondering around in the middle of the road like a sitting duck." he informed, taking one of the seats next to Ellis.

"You were hurt all over, and _I _was the one saw you first." Ellis made sure he gave a pointed stare at Nick, who just rolled his eyes.

The girl seemed to be squinting at them, a confused look on her face.

"How long ago...did you find me?" she asks, a bit hesitantly, her one free arm roaming over the other incased one, absently.

Nick looks to Ellis who looks somewhere other than him. Nick sighs, "Three days ago. We've been waking you up to give you water and food, but each time, you were basically out of it." he explains, relaxing into the chair, one leg folding over the other, his arms resting on the back of the chair.

"We stitched you up, and put your broke ass arm in a sling." Nick tacks on.

The girl looked down at her body, inspecting it, turning over her arm, moving the blanket from over her legs. She saw how bad her body was and started to tear up.

"How long was I...just...wondering?" she asked in a hushed whisper, more to herself.

"We don't know, but we're bettin it was fer days." Ellis says gently. He would have placed a hand on top of hers reassuringly, but he guessed she wasn't the type for being touched by people she didn't remember. Which, ironically, reminded him.

"I'm Ellis, and this here's Nick." Ellis reintroduced themselves.

The girl still seemed to be trapped in her internal mind war, but apparently not completely.

"...Like Ellis Island?" she asked softly.

Ellis smiled, "Yea, just like that."

It was then that Rochelle and Coach came in, first with Rochelle popping her head in through a slight crack, then her whole body emerging when she saw she had awoken. "Oh my god." Rochelle breathed.

A broad smile played across her overjoyed expression.

"We were so worried you wouldn't be alright, Danny." Rochelle whispered, taking a seat on the couch the girl was lying on.

The girls face squared up, an eyebrow raising. "Um..." her fingers started digging into the duffle bag/arm sling for purchase. Nick observed this, being a gambling man, it was a habit of his. He saw the gesture as a nervous tick, and was wondering about her thoughts of her own situation. Was she worried they were going to hurt her like before? Or was she afraid they had _already_ done something?

"She doesn't remember, Ro." Nick patted Rochelle's shoulder, letting her in on the new information.

Rochelle sighs, her shoulders slightly dropping. "Figures." she reached a hand out, but the girl only stared at her face.

Rochelle gave a slight cough, recoiling her hand, then deciding to stand.

"I'm Rochelle." she figured being around complete strangers in this kind of world would grant someone a little paranoia and hesitation.

Danny nodded.

"And you?" she looked to the big man in the back who had just seemed to be sitting and listening, his large arms folded over his chest as he sat back in a chair.

"You might as well call me Coach." he said, a chuckle rumbling his belly.

"Ellis, Nick, Rochelle, and Coach." she mused, her eyes seemingly fixed on a non-specific point.

Ellis was a little worried about her vague, blank expression, and looked to Nick.

Nick only shrugged, his eyes fixing back on the girl. He was beginning to wonder what they got themselves into.

"I was with a party of five, including myself, until one day, when I woke, they were nowhere in sight." she gave a quick summary of her situation.

"I traveled in the direction we had been planning on going, but it started looking like no one had been through at all. No dead zombies, no signs of scavenging. No nothin." she stated, her eyes fixed on the wall, her expression as blank as when she started.

"I started hallucinating about two weeks later. After I ran out of water. I ran out of food a couple days before my memory started getting fuzzy. After that... I can't remember a thing." she finally went to look at each of them deliberately in the eyes.

"Oh, Danny." Rochelle breathed, one hand coming up to cover her mouth.

She put a hand up, as if to ward off anything that they would say.

"All I want to know, is what do you plan to do with me?" she begins lifting the blankets from her legs and shifting them over the beds edge. The pain is apparent in her face, but she works through it.

"I've been in a situation like this before. Except the ones who 'saved' me," she made an air quotations gesture, "Only wanted to use me as bait to clear the area so they could drive off and leave me again." she made a move and in a second, she was standing in the middle of all of them, her head to the ground, and as still as possible.

Rochelle gave a gasp, and Coach made a "Whoa, now."

Nick only observed, his relaxed sitting position now draw back in, his hands resting on his knees while his torso careened to stare at the girl.

"I just want to know if your plans are similar." she stated, her eyes glancing up, a cringe worthy scowl on her face, not looking to one person, but in the same non directional way as before.

Ellis swallowed, understanding the reasoning for her off putting attitude.

"If it's any consolation," Ellis began, a small quiver in his voice, "All I was expectin from ya was to get better." he concluded, a small smile on his features.

The girl's body language showed she had heard him, and she gave a small head nod. She then made a turn and was back on the couch.

"This isn't like me to trust anyone so easily," she laid down, drifting the thin sheet back over her lower torso, "But, sense I feel like shit, and all I want to do is sleep..." she looked directly to Ellis, "I'm going to trust you."

And with that, she laid fully down, tugging the blanket just a little more over her, closing her eyes.

Ellis turned to give the others a look of utter joy.

"A'righty then. We'll be gettin, so's you can rest up." Ellis stood, gesturing the others in a 'shoo' motion out the door. Once everyone was out the door, he closed it softly behind himself.

When he turned to the others, he didn't expect to see them look the way they did. They were all frowning, discomfort and apprehension on their face.

"What'sa matter, y'all?" he asked sheepishly, moving away from the door.

Nick shrugged, deciding not to go any further on the subject, but took up a gun to have a smoke outside.

Rochelle gave a look to Coach. Coach nodded, "Well, Ellis… She's different than before." He states, using hand motions to get his point across.

"Well, yea. She was all loopy and hurt and dehydrated… I know this." He states, a little confused at what he's trying to get at.

"But, boy, she was more pliable. We could help her." He said, pointing to the door with a head nod, "But look at her now. She's paranoid and angry. She's all messed up from all that stuff she had to go through." Coach's voice came down to a whisper, as to not let Danny hear them talk about her.

"Coach, she already said she was gonna trust me. Isn't that good?" he asked, eyeing the door, his voice just as quiet for the same reason.

Coach looked far off, out a window, his head shaking slowly in thought.

"I think she feels like we could abandon her at any minute. So she's gonna be on us like white on rice the whole time." Coach explains, "She's gonna be makin sure we ain't liars." He concludes, looking back to Ellis, to look for some sort of confirmation that he understood.

Thankfully, though, Ellis nodded his head, getting it. "I guess you're right. She did go through some messed up shit." He made a small sigh. He wished they didn't have to bring him down all the time.

"But don't worry," Rochelle grasped one of Ellis's shoulders, "She'll come around to us. We're good people, and soon, she'll see that." She gave him a broad smile, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly.

Ellis smiled. At least it wasn't all bad.

Nick sat on the bench outside the information kiosk, taking a long drag of one of the cheapest cigarettes he's ever smoked. If they could find an actual smoke shop, he'd be sure they'd find his favorite brand.

He had been planning on quitting, but right now just didn't seem like a good time. Almost getting killed by fucking zombies every single God damned day would warrant anyone a reason to start the habit.

He exhaled slowly, spying a common who had wandered within his line of fire. They had cleared out most of the area, having been here for a couple of days, but there never seemed to be a shortage of any. Nick ground out his butt next to the others that had accumulated in the dying potted plant.

He stood, gun in hand and took aim.

A shot was heard outside, but the girl assumed it was one of the others. Even though she portrayed someone who didn't trust anyone, she was still a bit hesitant about this new group of people. Of course she was a million times thankful they had rescued her, wanting to throw her arms around the hick and cry, her fear of being left behind again was more prominent.

She made up the story about being left for bait, but the part about her party disappearing was true. No matter how bad she wanted it to be a lie. At one point, she wondered if she was crazy, and the group of people she had been with was maybe some sort of thing her mind made up to compensate for her loneliness.

Either way, she's right here, right now. She can't think about the past anymore. And, although she would rather stab herself till she bled out, she had to admit it was time to stop searching for her group, to stop searching for _her_. Friends can only get you so far in an apocalypse.

Right now, she had to make these guys think she was more apprehensive than she would be. If they turned out to be just like the people she dreamt up, she'd like a warning.

Just then, her stomach growled. She was surprised, seeing how after a couple days of being hungry, the pain of it goes away. She knew that was a bad sign, and that's when she started eating plants. Which was probably the worst decision she had made. It turned out, certain plants give you horrible cramps, and excessive diarrhea. Yea, not a good idea.

She sat up, being careful as to not make her injuries anymore painful. She looked around the room, noticing another couch and chair that had a blanket strewn in each and then a big cardboard box. It was filled with snack machine foods and a few water bottles. She eagerly grabbed up a bag of chips and a water and sat back on her bed, devouring them both. She noticed her kidneys weren't in as much pain as before, and her gums weren't dry as bone.

So, they really _had_ been taking care of her.

Ellis, Nick, Coach, and Rochelle.

She played the names over in her head, as she tore little tears in the foil bag, staring at it blankly.

'What now?' she wondered to herself. 'What were they going to do?' She guessed they'd be looking for an evac center, they seeming to be the sort for escape.

The girl let her feet rock back and forth as she leaned into the couch. Her group was slightly different. Everyone in her group had a mutual agreement that this was not the worst thing to happen to them. Everyone in her group agreed that they weren't looking for evacuation. But that was something she didn't have to tell her new group.

"New group…" she said the phrase aloud, throwing the torn bag in no particular direction, watching as it slowly drifted into a corner.

She exhaled deeply. This was going to be interesting for sure.

The night had fallen fast, and before she knew it, the one named Ellis had strode in, at first quietly, probably suspecting her to still be asleep, but at the sight of her bright eyes looking at him expectantly he simply smiled and walked in regularly.

"Ellis." She greeted, with a nod of the head.

"Danny." He smiled wider, tipping his hat. He made his way to the box and grabbed a few bags of food and three water bottles. As he turned to walk back out, the girl seemed to feel disappointed.

All he came in to do was get food and drink.

"Um…" she spoke up softly.

He stopped in his steps, looking back at her a bit surprised.

"What are guys…doing…?" she wondered, trying not to sound like she was lonesome and entirely bored out of her mind after hours of sitting and doing nothing all day.

She remembered hearing the big man and Ellis go outside earlier in the day, probably to scavenge or something, but other than that, she figured they had to at least be having some sort of conversation.

Ellis gave a soft grin, understanding.

"You can stand and walk, right?" he asked, setting the things back in the box and heading to Danny.

She nodded, but then added, "I only have a little trouble."

Ellis gave her his hand and helped her to her feet. He even held her hand as they walked to the door, opening it for her. It was the first time she had been outside that room, and she immediately knew what it was.

"Wow… A safe room…" she mumbled.

The three who had been sitting in chairs that had been drawn together slightly looked up at the sound of the voice.

"Danny was gettin lonely all coped up in there, so she's gone sit and talk with us. Ain't cha?"

The girl gave him a slightly annoyed look, "Not in those exact words, but sure." She was walked over to one of the couches, and she went and sat. Ellis took one of the chairs that was presumably his and scooted it closer to Danny.

"Hey, Overalls? You forget the snacks?" Nick reminded him.

Ellis gave a "Oh!" and rushed back to the room.

Coach and Rochelle had started moving their chairs closer to Danny, but Nick greedily took Ellis's seat, giving Danny a grin.

"How you doin, Sweetheart?" he spoke, giving her a pat on the shoulder he remembered wasn't injured. She merely gave him a small smile and a head nod, making sure her face went back to stoic. She realized at that moment, she'd have to be extra careful to keep her guard up. Nick and Ellis seemed to have something about them that made her want to smile.

As Ellis walked back in with the box, setting it in the middle of their chair circle, he gave a suck of his teeth, giving Nick the finger and dragging the other chair over, pushing Nick and chair both out of the spot he had first, making the older man laugh. He set his chair in the now empty spot, giving a sigh of content, when he finally sat.

"Now that we're all together," he started, looking at each of them, then finally at Danny, "How about you tell us about'cha self?"

The girl blinked, then swallowed, "Actually, I wanted to know about...you guys." she finished, unsure of how to ask for information that would confirm that they weren't crazy people.

Ellis gave a shrug, "Ok. Well, ya'know my name. Oh," Ellis thought of something to tell her after a few seconds of contemplation.

"I live right here in Savannah, always have for my whole life." he says, looking proud of his hometown.

Nick rolled his eyes, "Yea, well, I'm from Las Vegas. I came here to scam some suckers out of their money, but, turns out, they were already screwed when I got here." he lifted a leg over the other, his arms resting over the back of the chair. "I couldn't get back home, because the airports closed, and my rental was a piece of shit." he stated, a bit huffily, remembering that first day of the infection. It was complete hell, trying to talk sense into people who had things he needed. But, it seemed as the infection became more prominent, his ability to con left as well.

He gave a sigh, but lifted his eyes to her, "So, here I am."

She gave an unhumorous laugh, "A con-man? Awesome." she looked at him, unamused, and he guessed she's had to deal with his kind before.

"But, hey! It's not like I can con anyone anymore!" he laughed at the fact, as he felt a light punch from Rochelle.

Rochelle coughed, "Well, I'm actually from Ohio. But my news station sent me down here to cover the story of the whole infection." she had a gleam in her eyes at the thought of covering her first story.

"But, like Nick, when I got here, everything was already... Well, dead." she concluded. She gave a shake of her head, "Well, all I was doin in Cleveland was gettin peoples coffee and hauling equipment." she laughed.

"I guess this is better than nothin." Coach set a large hand on her shoulder.

Rochelle smiled up at him appreciatively.

"Well, Coach, how'd you get here?" the girl asked, changing her position to a more comfortable one.

Coach laughed, "Well, I work up at the high school, oh, well, used to. I made sure all that yougin's made it to evac safely, but when it came time for me to leave, I guess I delayed myself too long." he gave shrug.

"Oh well." he smiled.

The girl felt a little odd about Coach. He seemed like the type to do that, but now, as he sat here, she wondered how long it would take for him to be picked off. She knew that was a bad thought, but it was something she did even before the apocalypse.

"So," Nick spoke up, "Where you from?"

"Virginia!" Ellis exclaimed. He had a sure look about his face, probably expecting to be right.

The girl raised a brow. "Actually, I'm from South Carolina."

"HA!" Nick swiftly pointed an index in Ellis's face.

"I told you!" Nick grinned childishly. The girl rolled her eyes. She guessed they had some sort of bet when she had been in the room all day. She wondered what else they were wondering about her.

"NO! You said NORTH Carolina!" Ellis retorted.

"Same thing!" Nick waved dismissively at Ellis, a wide grin still on his face.

The girl shook her head, trying hard not to laugh. She wanted to kick herself for coming up with such a character. Quiet, calm, and stoic really wasn't her.

"Um, and do you guys mind if I ask another question?" She looked to each.

"You just did..." Nick snickered a little at his joke, grabbing for a water bottle from the box.

"Sure thing, sweety. Ask away." Rochelle reassured her.

"Yea. Ok. So..." She fidgeted a bit, before getting to her point, "Why do you guys keep calling me 'Danny'?"

Coach looked to Rochelle who looked to Nick who looked to Ellis.

"Cause that's yer name?" Ellis answered, a little confused. What was she talking about, he wondered.

"See, that's just it. I don't remember ever telling you my name. " she said, scratching at a stitch on her face. "And it's not Danny." she added.

There was silence for a few long seconds until Coach's belly started rumbling, a slow laughter coming up.

Nick frowned, his eyes squinting at her. "So I guess you were all loopy when you told us your name was Danny." he concluded.

"Well damn, what do we call you then?" Ellis laughed at the matter, not upset about the information at all, finding about as humorous as Coach.

The girl shrugged, "Well, I didn't give my last group my name, and I guess you're no different." she took in a yawn that had been inching up her body.

"Call me Radio Head." she smiled.

"Radio Head? What the hell kind of-" Nick started to ridicule her, when a sharp elbow in the ribs stopped him.

"Radio Head, that's cool, man! Shit, now I wish I coulda done somethin like that when I met all y'all!" he looked to Rochelle, who hadn't said anything for a bit.

Rochelle noticed the eyes on her, and looked to the girl.

"Why didn't you give out your name?" she asked tentatively. That's what she really wanted to know. It bugged her a bit.

Radio scratched at the stitch, "Actually, I did it for shits and giggles. They kinda just went with it."

Ellis reached over and swatted her hand away from the stitch she had been picking at. She gave him an annoyed look, but kept her hands away.

"Anyway, there's no real reason to give you a fake name. But then again," she maneuvered her injured arm over her body, getting it more comfortable. "There's no real reason to give you my _real _name."

The gambler could live with that. He understood that need for secrecy among almost complete strangers. What he didn't get was her act. He admitted, he was a little surprised by the stunt she pulled that morning, but he was able to see through that facade. Being a gambling man, he needed to be able to spot out liars. She was definitely one of them.

Ellis nodded, "Ok, I can respect that." although anyone could physically see that Ellis was tensed, and not at all liking the fact that she gave him a nic-name. He had saved her, and the least she could do was give him her real name. But, he held back. Sooner or later, he'd know her name.

Rochelle was on the fence, she didn't know if she liked this new name, or not. Radio Head. She wondered what inspired the name.

Radio took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, taking in the scents of the room. "So." she looked at each of them expectantly.

Ellis looked to Nick, a little confused, "So, what?" he prompted.

"So, what are we doing as of right now? What have you guys been doing up until you found me?" she asked the question that had been on her mind all day. Where would she fit into their plans?

"Oh!" Ellis laughed a bit. "Well, we were actually just comin from The Vannah. Man, it burnt to the ground!" he exclaimed, his arms making a motion to symbolize an explosion, "Freakin place blew up in smokes!"

Nick rolled his eyes. "We're trying to find this Gun store he keeps talking about." he started to explain, "We're kind of low on ammo right now, so we need to replenish pretty bad."

Radio nodded, somewhat liking that they actually had a plan, other than her last group.

"So, when do we move out?" she asked next.

"Actually, we was gonna let'chu rest up another day or so, so's you can heal more." Coach answered. The girl didn't seem to be in much pain as she moved and talked, but he didn't want to take any chances.

The girl waved a hand dismissively. "It's ok, I can deal pretty well. Although I would like to request something."

"What would that be?" Ellis asked, leaning in close.

The girl then had a faraway look in her eye. She was thinking hard, and then looked to Ellis.

"I can't find my bat. And I'd like it back." she smiled.


	4. Action

So, the friend who I let read my chapters before I publish has told me something pretty bumming. Now that I look at it, I see it too, but apparently Radio's character has become inconsistent. My friend has seen the notes I took on her, and the overall feel of who she's supposed to be, and she's saying I'm doing it wrong :I

So, I'm telling you this so if you see a drastic change in her character, that's why. I was originally going to revise the last two chapters, but that was debunked by my friend, and she told me to just let it slide. Soooo sorry for this inconvenience.

But hey! Did you notice the picture thing? Yea, I guess that's what I picture Radio to look like, too bad the picture is so tiny. I guess, if you're truly interested, I could put a link to my deviant art page, and I'll post it there, so you can see the bigger image.

**(BLD)**

Radio had been sitting and talking with the group for a good couple of hours. The light of day had begun to fade into night, and they had barely taken notice.

"So, I armored my truck up. Built that thing to be zombie proof! Turns out, it was only 99 percent zombie proof. The last one percent tore that truck to _shit_." Ellis chuckled to himself lowly.

Radio laughed and rolled her eyes, crumbling up her bag of empty chips. After talking with them, she could scramble up a mini synopsis of each of them. Ellis seemed to be fine, free of any malicious thoughts other than his thoughts on killing zombies. Rochelle was sweet and seemed to really care about her. Coach was funny and old. That's about how she summed him up, funny and old. Then there was Nick. He was that guy your parents told you to stay away from.

She didn't put too much thought into him, though, seeing as how they're all pretty much just trying to get out of this whole thing alive.

The group seemed to be solid. Which only made her realize she needed to stop being so friendly with them. The chances of every single one of them making it out alive was slim. If she didn't want to be hurt again, she'd have to be more stern.

"I think it's time that I went back to bed. I know it's still kinda early, but I think fatigue is a symptom of... whatever happened to me." she wrung at the back of her neck, which she had been feeling pain in sense she woke up.

Ellis simply nodded, "Alright. Let'me help ya." he began to stand, remembering her slight difficulty with walking.

"Uh, no thanks, I got this." she shoved his hand away.

The southerner seemed to be undeterred by her rudeness, "Ya sure?"

"Yea, yea. My legs just fell asleep." she coughed a bit, the tingling feeling starting to set in.

Nick stood then, stretching out his limbs with a groan. "Yea, I think I'm gonna retire early too." he mutters, and almost to prove his point, a large yawn forms.

* * *

Coach and Rochelle had gone out to search twenty minutes earlier. They looked for anything else they could bring along with them when they left out in the morning, before the sun was diminished completely. They didn't want to get lost in the dark.

They had searched through a gas station and found a handful of safely wrapped granola bars and two bottled waters. They had planned on going a little further, but after they had to take down more than a couple commons that rushed at them, they decided to pack it in.

As they approached the safe house, they could definitely tell night was on them, being barely able to see the faint lights that came from the kiosk.

Rochelle was watching behind them as she had a question, "Coach, do you think Danny-" she grumbled at herself. It was about the umpth-teenth time she'd called her Danny. "Radio...Do you think she'll be ok to leave out tomorrow?" She knew she could trust that Radio was capable of killing zombies, but in her physical state, she wasn't so sure.

"Well, I think she's a girl who knows her limits. Then again, we'll just have to see what tommra' brings." Coach concluded.

Radio had insisted that they leave the following day, not wanting to delay them any further. None of the four had a chance to discuss it amongst themselves.

"I just don't want to make her go through all the mess we've had to, and then she gets even worse." she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if anything horrible happened to her because they didn't let her rest another day.

"Calm down, Ro. I have a feelin' she'll do just fine." Coach gave her a reassuring smile, which made her feel a bit better.

They had reached the safe house, and were now re-entering, securing the bar behind themselves.

Ellis was currently looking over some of the numerous maps that were stacked up in the kiosk, pointing out the path they had all memorized from earlier in the day.

When he saw the others return, he smiled, and came over.

"You bring me back somethin nice?" he joked, taking the bag on Rochelle's back off for her.

"We found some water and a few healthy bars." Coach answered, setting his AK down on the small table in the room.

"It's better than nothin." Rochelle said, giving Ellis a small apologetic smile.

"Hey, it's fine. You got what'cha could." Ellis reasoned. He knew how nerve racking it was to be out in the dark.

Rochelle let out a contended sigh as she fell into an arm chair, leaning all the way in, her head tilted off the back.

Her head snapped back up for a moment.

"Where's Nick and Radio?" she asked, looking down the hallway.

"Oh, they done went to bed. Radio was genuinely tired, but I think Nick went to bed just to talk with her." Ellis told, as if it were gossip.

Rochelle laughed a bit. What would Nick have to say to a 16 year old girl?...

She quickly jumped from her chair and was almost running to the room they had all made their sleeping quarters.

Ellis stared after her, a bit confused, until it clicked in his head, too.

"Goddamn it..." he mumbled under his breath as he too leapt up.

Rochelle slammed the door open, only to give out a loud sigh of relief.

Radio was on her couch, bundled up into a cocoon of blankets, with only her head pocking out, looking very startled. Nick was far off on the other side of the room, lying in his arm chair, giving Rochelle an extremely confused glare.

"What's got you so riled up?" he asks, having been quite comfortable until she interrupted his dozing with her loud stomping and banging.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm sorry." she rubbed at her eyes, a little embarrassed by her outburst.

"We just thought we heard somethin in here." Ellis responded, standing behind Rochelle. "We'll let ya'll get back to sleepin." he finished, tugging Rochelle by her elbow out of the door frame, and then closing it behind them.

In the barely lit room, Nick gave a look to Radio who only shrugged. He shook his head and went back into his reclined position, giving out a sigh of comfort. The arm chairs had served him well for the past couple of days, and that was going to be one of the things he'd miss when they left. Which made him think.

"Hey, kid." he called out to the young girl in the room.

Radio, having been trying to get back in to her state of relaxation, but failing, lifted her head a bit to look at Nick.

"Why don't you wanna stay here for another day or two?" he knew the question had already been answered, but he thought he could get a more reasonable answer from her. She was walking with a wobble, and her arm was broken. Something had to give.

If she was going to be incapable of fighting off zombies that would only hinder them further, because he just knew they'd be going at a slow, agonizing pace for the girl's sake. He didn't much like this, and if spending one more day hauled up in the kiosk meant quicker movement, he was all for it.

Radio gave a sigh, and let her head tilt back onto the couch arm rest.

"I've already said it's because I don't want to delay you guys. I'm too much of a burden as is." her voice was raspy with sleep, and her mind was slowly drifting as her body settled back into a calmer state.

"I know what you told _them_, but what I want you to tell _me_ is the truth." Nick responded, one arm lifting and sliding behind his head.

Radio's eyes snapped open, and she quickly began to edge herself up into a sitting position to eye the gambler further.

She stared at him for a few moments before asking, "Who said I'm _lying_?" a bit incredulously, though her voice only a little louder than a whisper.

Nick smiled lightly, "You can't lie to a liar." he stated flatly.

Radio squinted in the dark at him, unbelieving of the man, though she'd be lying if she said she weren't that shocked that he'd caught on.

"_And_, I mean come on. Your arms broke, and you're hobbling. You and me both know another day is what you need." he explains. He didn't want to bring this topic up with everyone else around. He surprised himself with how much interest he was showing in the girl, but then again, keeping her healthy meant quicker escape.

She selected her words carefully, but then decided it wouldn't help anything if she kept it up around him.

"...I don't like staying in one place for too long." And with that, and one last glare at the con-man, she pulled the blanket back over her and laid back down for the rest she really did need.

She changed her mind from earlier. She didn't like Nick.

Said con-man smiled in the dark, then leaned back further into the chair, and went back to dozing, the room becoming silent once more, save for the soft breathing.

* * *

Ellis was starting to drift, his head bobbing every time his eyes closed for too long, staring at the maps. The lines started running together, and the words on them became jibberish. It wasn't until Rochelle started to cotjle him gently that he realized he was dozing off.

"Ellis, sweetie, I think it's time you went on to bed." she spoke to him softly, starting to lift at his arm.

Ellis gave a nod, rubbing at his eye with his other hand, and with the aid of Rochelle, lifted off of the couch. He gave a weary smile to Rochelle as he set off down the hall for the 'bed' room.

"Night, Rochelle. Night Coach." he called behind him.

"Night." Coach responded, not taking his eyes off the closed safe house door.

"Goodnight Sweetie." Rochelle replied. She went back to packing the few bags they had with the things they wouldn't be needing in the morning, so half the job would be done.

Ellis yawned long and deep as he sauntered down the hall, and then finally opening the door to the couches and arm chairs. Nick lay lopsided in his chair, snoring softly, while Radio Head lay on her couch, back to him. He smacked his lips a bit, scratching his chin, and grabbed up a blanket from the corner to occupy the couch that lay in between the two.

He set the blanket down, and began to undress. He first took off his hat, placing it on the table in the middle of the room, and then started working off his boots. He was thankful that they hadn't started stinking at least too bad, and he wouldn't get ribbed for it.

He tugged off his socks as well, tucking them inside his boots and then sliding them under the table. He then shimmied out of his coveralls, folding them and placing them on the table alongside his hat. The last thing he took off was his shirt, deciding that sleeping in his pants would be just fine.

He placed the shirt atop his overalls, feeling a bit lazier about them as he plopped onto the couch. He gave a good stretch, his arms in the air, back arching and then unfolded the blanket, draping it over himself.

He made himself comfortable, the couch squeaking almost inaudibly, then with one last look about the room, he shut his eyes.

But, it didn't seem like long until he was woken by soft movement. His eyes cracked open, and he realized it had been awhile sense he fell asleep, the room being darker than before, and he could faintly tell by the outlines that Coach and Rochelle had also come to bed. He started looking for the source that woke him, when his attention was caught by Radio.

She stood from her couch, a little wobbly, but soon found her footing and quickly left the room. He gave a sigh, chalking it up to her using the bathroom.

He settled back in and let his mind drift. But, it seemed until the girl had made it back to her bed, he couldn't keep his mind off her.

He sighed, waiting for the tell-tell sounds of footsteps. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait too long, and the girl quietly opened the door, closing it softly behind herself and went back to her couch. Ellis made sure to keep his eyes at slits, so if she did look over to him, she wouldn't see him staring back.

He noticed that instead of coiling back up into her blanket, she simply flopped back down over top them.

He stopped himself from sighing, but instead, rolled over, in much a manner that he would if her were truly asleep. Soon, though, he was back in oblivion.

* * *

The next morning, Rochelle was the first to wake. She quickly got up and proceeded to their stock pile in the living room, but not without eyeing each of her compatriots, making sure each was well. As she rummaged through their supplies and pulled out the granola bars they had found yesterday, she was relieved to discover they had gotten six. She put the extra away, and pulled out five water bottles. These, she would have to remind them, will have to last them until the next safe house, or, until they found more, because they were down to their last three water bottles. Rochelle soon realized how much more difficult it would be to keep them all fed with the extra mouth to feed.

She only shrugged it off, knowing it was a sacrifice she was more than willing to make.

After she had pulled out the morning's breakfast, she resumed her work from last night, packing their supplies, but left out their remaining ammo.

Soon, the eldest of their group awoke, lumbering into the main room with a large yawn. He stretched out his arms over his chest, giving his shoulders a couple of shrugs.

"Mornin' Ro." he greeted her, taking a seat on the couch nearest the coffee table.

"Morning." she greeted over her shoulder. She was just about done, and when she was, she decided to go wake the others.

"Coach, there's a granola bar for you and a bottled water. I'd advise you not to drink too much of it." she warned while going back to the bed room.

Coach gave a nod of understanding, "Alright." and tore into his little morsel.

Rochelle reentered the room and made her way to Nick, the easiest to wake out of the two boys.

"Hey, time to get up." she said gently, giving his shoulder a light shake. He mumbled and his eyes shut tighter, frowning. "Come on, now, don't make me get loud." she shook just a little harder, and he finally started opening his eyes, still squinting, but coming to.

"I'm up, I'm up." he drug a hand across his face, and then took a big yawn. Rochelle was pleased with his awakening and moved to the others.

"Hey, I got'em." Nick quickly tells her, yawning again, scratching at his jaw.

"Thanks. There's food and water set out in the main room for each of us. This will have to last us till we find more." and with that, she exited.

Nick rose from his chair and gave a good stretch, a few things cracking as he did so.

He then went to wake Ellis, "Hey, kiddo, time to go back to the daily grind." he started pushing at his back with his knee.

He grumbled and pulled the blanket further up over himself.

Nick sighed, and started tugging the blanket out of his hand and off the couch. After the mini tug of war, Nick flung the blanket into the nearest corner and started to knee him again.

"Wakey _wakey_, Overalls."

He grumbled again, then slowly started rubbing at his eyes, his face crinkling.

"There's a good boy." he commented before then going to Radio. But, just as he was about to rouse her, he remembered that look she gave him last night.

"Uh, hey, I've got to go piss like a race horse, wake the girl up for me, will'ya?" he asked, but didn't wait for a response, as he left out the room anyway.

Ellis shakes his head, sitting up on the couch. He yawned and scratched at his back before getting up.

He stretched and moved to touch his toes, something he always did now a day, to keep limber. After his routine, he finally approached the sleeping girl. He peered over her to see her face. The stitch on her right cheek seemed to be holding up pretty well, and the burnt color of her skin seemed to be almost completely gone, but there was still a tan.

Her overall physical appearance seemed to be getting back to normal, which he was thankful for.

He set a hand on the curve of her ribs and started to gently rock her back and forth.

"Wake up, Radio. Time to get'a move on."

Her eyes suddenly open, with no sleepiness, or hesitation. It startled Ellis a bit, which made him jerk his hand away.

She sat up, stretching her arms out, then stood.

"Wh-were you even asleep?" he asked, a bit surprised she wasn't harder to wake.

"Oh, I've been up for a good couple hours. I just didn't want to be the first to 'get' up." she clarified, walking pass Ellis to exit, a smirk on her face.

"O-Oh. Okay..." As she walked away, he also noticed that her hobble was barely noticeable. He smiled and started to follow her out, until he realized he was still in only just his pants.

Radio sat on the couch next to Coach, who gave her a friendly, "Good morn'in." and a nod. She nodded back, and reached for her breakfast.

"So, today's plan..." she prompted, not really shooting the question to anyone particular.

"Well, first we're gonna head to the spot we found you, get your bat, and then head to the gun shop." Rochelle jumped to answer, laying out a map and then pointing to the corresponding spots.

"Okay. So, after the gun shop..." she prompted again, eyeing the map herself.

Nick, who had just stepped inside from his session with a potted plant, sat in one of the folding chairs.

"We're supposed to be heading to an evac station in the mall." he answered, placing on knee over the other.

"What?" Radio suddenly looked up, shock and terror on her face. One eyebrow raised on Nick's face.

"Yea. Do you have a problem with this?" Seriously, if it wasn't one thing, it was another.

Radio gave a humorless snort of a laugh, "Oh, yea, only the fact that the place is over run." She answers, dripping with sarcasm.

"Hey, what's goin on?" Ellis asked, as he stepped into the main room, fully clothed, pausing beside the couch Radio sat on.

"What makes you so sure…" Nick started to ask, but upon further thought, it seemed he felt that way too, even though he hadn't wanted to air it out.

The four of them seemed to notice his abrupt stop, so he coughed, and continued anyway, "What makes you so sure the place is over run? It's not like you've been there."

"Yea, but it doesn't take a fucking genius to figure out that such a public gathering like that, plus the amount of time it's sat there would probably equal to the place being overrun, and abandoned." She spoke frankly, leaving all façades at the door of entry at this whole suggestion. She was _not_ up for going through such a stupid plan that could get her killed.

The room seemed to go silent as they each looked at her, a little disbelieving of her words. Well, Nick wasn't in so much shock, he'd guessed as much.

"Well, we're doin it anyway." Ellis finally spoke up. "It's worth lookin in to, and I haven't given up hope on it yet." He frowned a bit, looking to the ground, making it obvious that he's at least thought of the possibility of it being empty. At least he wasn't running with blinders on.

Radio huffed and stood, "Well, whatever. It's your guys plan, and I guess I don't have a say." She then marched off as best she could with her slightly debilitating limp back to the bed room.

The door slammed, and it seemed they all let out a breath they had been holding.

It was then that Nick spoke, "You know, technically, she has a point."

The three quickly looked to Nick, "You're kidding, right?" Rochelle's eyebrows were raised high.

"Hey, don't act like the possibility isn't there. She's using logic, and we're what? Going on hope?" Nick shook his head slightly.

"If where she's from is the truth, than she's been doing this whole thing a lot longer than we have. We all just met five _days_ ago. SHE HAS A POINT." Nick hadn't raised his voice, he hadn't changed his calm tone, and yet his point seemed to get across just fine. That girl could learn a thing or two from him.

Ellis sighed, then nodded, "Yea I guess."

Rochelle crossed her arms, "I'm agreeing that she has a point, but I _still _want to go." She looked down at her guns and bag, then unfolded her arms to start putting them on. "Let's get it together." She called gently.

Coach took the responsibility of getting Radio out of the bedroom from her sulking. It wasn't hard to get her into action, it seemed her inactive state left her with a lot of energy, which was a good thing, because hopefully, her symptoms like fatigue wouldn't set in for a while. They didn't need any of that to slow them down today.

She put her water bottle in a bag Coach was carrying, she would have held onto it, but Coach talked her into letting him carry it. She would need her hands to be free, well, the one she could use. Her sling sat her arm right at her side, and she had adjusted it the best she could to keep it at least somewhat comfortable. The other night, she had asked how long her arm would have to stay like that, and Ellis had answered for at least three weeks. They didn't exactly know the extent of her fracture, but they didn't want to take any chances.

As the five of them gathered in the main room, Rochelle mentally checked all their supplies.

"We've got our extra guns, ammo and empty clips with Coach," she said aloud, with Coach giving a nod of confirmation, patting the duffle on his hip.

"Our two remaining health packs, adrenaline, and pills with Ellis." Ellis nodded, "Sure do." He commented, tightening a strap on the back pack.

"And then the defibrillator, food and water with Nick." The smaller bag Nick wore showed the sag at the bottom where the defib unit sat. He gave a nod, eyeing out the bars of the door, beyond Rochelle.

"So, that leaves me with the miscellaneous." She concluded. Her even smaller bag flopped on her back as she moved about the room.

All that was left was Radio, which Rochelle had noticed was carrying nothing.

"Oh, sweetie, I forgot." Rochelle quickly went to Coach and started shuffling through the bag. Radio came up beside her, and was handed an Uzi and two full clips.

"This is all we can spare in ammo until we get to that gun store." She told her. They would need an equal amount of luck if they wanted to get to that gun store in one piece. She didn't know the gun store would have anything in the way of medical supplies, but she sure hoped so.

Radio nodded, turning the gun slowly in her right hand, "So, how am I supposed to work it?"

Nick's jaw dropped, "You've got to be _kidding_ me!" he almost threw his own magnum to the ground, unbelieving.

"Oh, honey, that's right, you were using a bat when we found you." Rochelle put a hand to her chin, a little embarrassed she had slipped and gave her a gun, after she had told them in a round-about way she didn't know how to use one.

Ellis chuckled a bit, finding it humorous she didn't know how to operate a firing weapon. With his upbringing, shooting a gun was probably something he learned even before he could walk. In fact, he couldn't recall the first time he fired a weapon, it was that long ago.

"Here Darlin', le'me give you a quick lesson." Ellis took the initiative and took hold of the Uzi, giving her the basics.

"Here, now just aim it out the bars and give it a few shots." He instructed, after his on the job training.

Radio nodded, "Alright." She took a stance and aimed, but sense there weren't any infected around, she shot for a light pole. After missing the first few hits, she managed to get the next few into it. After getting a good aim, she decided to conserve what she had left.

"I figure this'll be good enough." She twirled the gun a bit as it hung in her hand at her side.

"I can get better when we have enough to play with." She informed Ellis. "Good thinkin'." He patted her back, but immediately stopped when she hissed slightly.

"Opps, sorry." He chuckled a bit sheepishly. Coach shook his head, "Let's go ya'll, be'fo Ellis kills the girl." The others laughed as Rochelle moved in and pulled the iron from its locking position. Rochelle was the first out, then Coach, then Nick.

"Ladies first." Ellis held a hand in front of himself, allowing Radio ahead. She smiled.

"Yea, as long as I'm not in the back." She joked, giving Ellis a shove with her good shoulder on her way out. Ellis shook his head, following behind her. At least she was entertaining.

Outside, the air was hot and humid, making a layer of sweat appear on their foreheads almost out of nowhere as they traveled to the place they had found their newest member. Luckily, it was only a turn down the road, the road they hadn't traveled while they stayed held up for those three days, knowing there wasn't much of anything to be found where they had already been.

Radio held her gun at the ready. It's not like she hadn't seen her other previous team mates use a gun, she knew the motions, she just couldn't get the technique down. As they approached a section of the road that had numerous zombies piled about, they slowed.

"Ok, it was right about here." Rochelle commented, lowering her gun.

Radio quickly broke from the formation and set about searching for her possession, a fierce on look on her face.

Nick watched as she started kicking over bodies, probably thinking it might be hidden underneath one.

"So, this bat… Does it have some sort of sentimental value?" he asked casually, or least he hoped it sounded casual. He hated for anyone to think he was actually holding any interest in her. Let's face it, there was something this girl wasn't telling anyone, and that alone spiked his interest. He just wanted to be the first to figure it out.

Radio shrugged, "I guess. It was a bat that was sort of lying around where I lived. I used this thing for some stuff and tossed it back where ever I found it."

"Some stuff…?" Nick prompted, an eyebrow raised.

Radio crouched next to a pick up, "Aha!" She leaned down and reached under it. "There you are." Completely ignoring Nick. She retracted her limb, bat in hand. It was just as blood caked as before. Nick squinted.

She came back over to the group, grabbing the bat in-between her legs, handing her Uzi back to Coach. "Won't be needing this anymore." Coach took it back, laughing a bit, "You sure?"

Radio laughed, picking her bat back up in her good hand, backing up and giving a good swing. Her draw back was slow, due to swinging with one hand, but with the force she put into the swing, there would be enough time for that. "I only need one hand to kick somebodies ass." Coach gave a hearty laugh, along with the others who joined in soon after.

"Girl, you are somethin else!"

Radio slung the bat over one shoulder, the group now turning around to head off down the other road, which would take them to the gun shop.

As the sun bore down on the five, it was a little silent. The absence of zombies was thanks to their three days with nothing else to do. It was a contributing reason why Radio didn't want to wait around anymore, knowing how depleted they were.

Radio suddenly slowed. "Why does this seem so familiar…" her brows were furrowed, and then stopped completely. Ellis only had half a second before he would have walked right into her back. "Hey, watch it." He warned.

"Holy shit…" Radio suddenly dropped her bat. She started to look from left to right frantically.

"Oh my God! I've been walking in circles!"

The other four eyed each other. "What do you mean, Sweetheart?" Nick asked, a bit concerned.

Radio grumbled, shoving a curled fist to her forehead, anger pulsing through her. "I can't believe this!" she threw her hand away and then marched to a parked van.

She threw open the door and dove in.

"Girl, what are you doin? We ain't got time fo'this." Coach was getting impatient with her nonresponsiveness.

She emerged from the van, but with a dark green, ratty book bag in hand. She huffed a sigh, eyeing it over in her hand. Her laugh was humorless, "I put this here…when I couldn't carry it anymore. When I was out of food and water, and didn't have the strength."

It was starting to click for Nick. "And that's when your memory started getting fuzzy, and you couldn't remember where you'd already been."

"I can't believe I wasn't even making any progress…" she sighed again, slinging the bag over her shoulders, fixing the straps tight. "Thought I'd never be wearing this again."

"Well, I guess it wasn't _all_ bad." Ellis tried to lighten her mood a bit.

A small smile appeared on her lips then, and shrugged her shoulders, giving an exasperated sigh. She came back over, picking her bat up, "I guess."

"Now, if we're done with that mess…" Coach started to move again, picking their pace up. There were infected coming back into view, which meant it was time to stop lolly gagging.

"Alright, alright." Radio slung the bat back over her shoulder and picked up her pace. This was going to be a fun experience.


End file.
